Scripting in linux for n00bs

As ever, I'm standing on the shoulders of giants in order to see a bit further. Or to really annoy the giants, if they don't like having scrawny English men clambering over them in their quest to see a bit further. Really, it's not very polite of them. And to think, we're meant to be famous for our gentility. An English gentleman never gives offence unknowingly. But they never said anything about hauling yourself over gigantic people without asking first.  Usual rider about technological gubbins for what follows...

Playing with language - the technical gubbins

I'm really enjoying using the command line today to do things.  I spend most of my time at work using Windows to do things, and for most spreadsheet work that's ok (I don't want to draw a graph from the command line, thanks very much) but if you want to do something iteratively, often a point and click interface isn't the best way, once your desired workflow is a bit different to what the program thinks it should be.  Plus, Linux comes with lots more free tools that are easily accessible, once you don't mind getting your hands a bit dirtier.  If mucking around with scripts isn't your thing, don't read any further.

Playing with language

Today I was looking at Get TEDPad, where a chap has run some statistical analysis against transcripts of the first five hundred or so TED lectures, and figured out how to generate snippets of new, non-existent TED speeches that sound either convincing and good quality English, or (when he switches it to the dark side) good quality English spoken by an idiot obsessed by whatever the New York Times tells him is important at this particular moment in time.

At the risk of repeating myself

I read back through the last few entries. I hadn't realised how much I'd gone on about the smell of eggs in the Big Eye Tuna. Ah well, repetition is the soul of wit, after all.